Toni Morrison

Spring, 2002	(Ms.) Noelle Morrissette
English 444	Rice 101 (440) 775-8921
W, 7:00-9:30 pm, King 127 E-mail: Noelle.Morrissette@oberlin.edu	Office Hours: TuTh, 12:30-1:30, and by appointment

TONI MORRISON

A study of Morrison's novels and critical essays that explores what it means to be American and how we assess American literature. This is a two-part seminar: first, a reading of author Toni Morrison's oeuvre; second, a survey of some contemporary critical practices. We consider how Morrison’s writing addresses the relation of history and literature in the American imagination through problems of identity. A particular focus on the literary contexts of Black feminist writing, American modernism, and Morrison's popular reception. Thematic focus on narratives of African-American women, individual and communal memory, migration and belonging. Through these topics we assess the interdependence of African-American and American literature. Critical practices of Black feminist literary criticism, new historicism and cultural studies, psychoanalytic criticism applied to Morrison’s writings.

Requirements:

One creative writing assignment: 4-6 pages, with a one-page critical explanation;

One short critical paper, 6-8 pages;

One longer research paper, 15-20 pages;

One response paper, 2 pages, to a critical article.

Regular attendance and active participation is required.

Required Texts:

Books (available at The Oberlin College Bookstore): Toni Morrison's novels, The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Beloved, Jazz, Paradise; her essay collection, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.

Xerox Packet (on library reserve): Readings followed by an asterisk indicate that they are course packet material.

Books on Library Reserve:

All works authored or edited by Morrison

Nancy J. Peterson, ed., Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins

University Press, 1997.

Linden Peach, ed., Toni Morrison. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Kwame Anthony Appiah, eds., Toni Morrison: Critical Perspectives Past and

Present. New York: Amistad, Press, 1993.

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W February 6:	Introduction. Review of course requirements. Distribution of short speech, "The Dancing Mind," for discussion.
W February 13:	Moving Beyond Black Arts: The Bluest Eye; Larry Neal, "The Black Arts Movement" Gloria Naylor, "The Two," from The Women of Brewster Place. Mary Helen Washington, "Introduction," Black-Eyed Susans, 1975
W February 20:	Black Feminist writing and literary criticism: Sula; Paulette Childress White, "Alice," 1977 Barbara Smith, "Toward a Black Feminist Criticism"; Deborah McDowell, "New Directions for Black Feminist Criticism"; Barbara Christian, "But What Do We Think We're Doing Anyway: The State of Black Feminist Criticism(s) or My Version of a Little Bit of History"
W February 27:	Re-figuring American Modernism, Part I: Roots Song of Solomon, Part I (pp. 3-216) Due date: short critical paper: paper due at the beginning of class
W March 6:	Re-figuring American Modernism, Part I, cont'd. Song of Solomon, Part Two (pp. 219-end) William Faulkner, "A Bear Hunt" "Black Matters" in Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
W March 13:	Re-figuring American Modernism, Part II: Speaking from the Wound Excerpt, Morrison's M.A. Thesis, "Virginia Woolf's and William Faulkner's Treatment of the Alienated" Handout: from The Black Book Excerpt: Cathy Caruth, Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History Beloved, pp. 1-147
W March 20:	Re-figuring American Modernism, Part II, cont'd. Beloved, pp. 148-end "Romancing the Shadow" in Playing "Unspeakable Things Unspoken: The Afro-American Presence in American Literature"
	--Spring Break, March 23rd-31st--
W April 3:	Reflecting on Morrison's refigurations: Beloved Homi K. Bhabha, "Locations of Culture"; Paul Gilroy, excerpt," 'Not A Story to Pass On': Living Memory and the Slave Sublime." Due date: creative writing assignment: paper due at the beginning of class
W April 10:	Jazz Handout: James Van Der Zee, Harlem Book of the Dead Final due date: critical response paper
W April 17:	The Law and its Transgression: Paradise, pp. 1-182 1993 Nobel Prize Speech
W April 24:	Paradise, 185-end
W May 1:	Discussion of Beloved, Jazz, and Paradise as a trilogy; review and conclusion.
May 8:	Morrison's popular reception: the Oprah Book Club Selected articles, TBA
	Final research paper due during Reading Week: absolute deadline May 14.

Course requirements:

One short critical paper:

6-8 pages: a close reading of one of Morrison's novels through a specific topic of your own devising, to be approved by the Instructor.

One fiction-writing assignment: 4-6 pages, submitted with critical explanation, 1-2pp., and original article.

"Unspeakable Things Unspoken": find a newspaper article or other historical source that presents an objective story of a person's suffering and actions, without employing the subject's own words. Devise a voice, narrative style, and story that impart an understanding of that person’s thoughts and actions in her/his historical, psychological, and imaginative world.

Final research paper:

15-20pp. A close reading of one or more of Morrison's novels tracing a theme and applying one of our critical lenses to your reading in a sustained analysis. Additional research and discussion of key theoretical essays and/ or journal articles welcome, but not required.

Response paper:

you will choose from one of four articles provided by the instructor which discuss Morrison's work through a critical lens of Black feminism, psychoanalysis, or new historicism and cultural studies. Your response paper should a) establish the major concerns and values of the critical approach; b) summarize the argument that the article makes about Morrison's particular work; c) discuss how and why this critical approach allows for a contribution to our understanding and interpretation of Morrison; d) addresses possible limitations or personal reservations about the critical approach taken, possibly offering one or two thoughtful questions.

Grading Policies:

Critical Paper 20%; Creative Writing Assignment 15%; Response paper, 5%; Research Paper 35%; Participation 25%

All papers are due in class on the date indicated on the syllabus.

No late work will be accepted.

Do not come late to class—you will be marked as absent.

All assignments for course must be completed in order to receive a passing final grade.

More than two absences will result in a "no entry" for the course. There will be no exceptions to this policy.

Papers: The following are guidelines to paper-writing format for this class. Papers that do not adhere to the guidelines presented will be penalized.

All papers must be submitted as typed, double-spaced hard copies, and must be stapled. No electronic submissions will be accepted under any circumstances. Set a one-inch margin on all sides. Choose a font that results in 250-300 words per page, such as Courier 12, Times 12, Helvetica 12, New Century Schoolbook 12, or Palatino 12.

A short essay does not require a title page. Instead, as a heading, place your name, the course number and section number, the instructor's name, and the date in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. Center the title you are giving to your essay three or four lines below the last line of your heading. Do not put quotation marks around your title unless the title is a phrase drawn from another piece of work.

The pages of your essay must be numbered and stapled. Print your surname as an abbreviated header to the second and all subsequent pages, along with the page number. (Thus the upper right-hand corner of the second and third pages of your essay would print the following: "surname 2" and "surname 3".)

Be careful to save your document frequently (every ten minutes or so) to prevent its sudden and disheartening disappearance. At every stage of a draft print a hard copy and save to disk.

Always keep a copy of the paper for yourself. You must turn in all papers to receive a grade for the class.

Citations must be completed in MLA style in the following format, as footnotes:

--The author’s name, first name first

--the title of the book, italicized

--the name of the editor or translator (if any), first name first, preceded by "ed." or "trans."

--the volume number, in Arabic numerals, if you are using a multi-columed work ("Vol. 2")

--in parenthesis, the place of publication, followed by a colon, the name of the publishing

company, followed by a comma, and the year of publication

--the page number(s) in Arabic numerals ("47" or "47-51"). If you are citing verse quotations cite line number(s) instead of page number(s) ("2" or "5-7")

Place a comma between each item in the sequence, except that a comma does not precede the parenthesis containing information about place and date of publication. A footnote or an endnote always ends with a period.

Please follow these guidelines for quotations from prose:

Prose quotations of not more than four lines in your printed text should be incorporated, within quotation marks, as part of the text, unless special emphasis is required.

Longer quotations are usually introduced by a colon, and indented from the left margin. No quotation marks are necessary unless they are present in the material being quoted. Let the reader see how the source you are quoting from is paragraphed, just as you let the reader know how the lines of a poem are arranged on the page. If the first sentence of the excerpt being quoted is the beginning of a paragraph in the source, indent a few spaces. If not, do not indent.

It is incumbent on you, as a scholar, both to document the borrowings that you make from the work of others and to report and more general indebtedness to the people and books that you have consulted in the course of preparing your papers. Plagiarism consists of intentionally misrepresenting someone else's work, words, or insights as your own. Like any other form of intellectual dishonesty, plagiarism is a serious offense in an academic community. A paper that shows evidence of plagiarism will receive no grade and will lead to no grade for the entire term of English. Every case of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs for disciplinary action, which may range from further reprimand to expulsion from Oberlin College. For further guidance, please see the course instructor.

Office Hours:

Every week I will be available in my office for consultation. Office hours are your opportunity to talk to me about the reading and writing process and the ideas you develop on an individual basis. If you cannot make my regular office hours, you may schedule an appointment for another time.